Operation Split Fire is the third season of Year 11 in Rainbow Six Siege, and it lands with a defender built to break the shield meta apart. Noor, a new Egyptian operator, headlines a season that also brings the solo-queue Legend Division playlist, a limited-time 3v3 Arcade mode, a drone racing event, and a targeted rework of Villa.
Quick answer: Operation Split Fire launches on September 1, 2026. You can try it early on the Public Test Server, which opens August 17, 2026.
Operation Split Fire release date and test server
The season goes live on September 1, 2026, following its reveal during the Esports World Cup grand final on August 15, 2026. Before launch, the Y11S3 Public Test Server opens on August 17, 2026, letting you test the new operator and balance changes ahead of time.
Several season features roll out on a staggered schedule rather than all at once. The tables and sections below break down each date so you know when to log in for the parts you care about.
| Content | Date |
|---|---|
| Public Test Server | August 17, 2026 |
| Season launch | September 1, 2026 |
| 3v3 Arcade mode | September 8 – 21, 2026 |
| Wasteland Circuit drone racing | September 23 – October 13, 2026 |
| Legend Division | Mid-season |
Noor, the new shield-counter defender
Noor is a defender designed to punish shield operators and disrupt attacker pushes. His gadget, the Horus Lance Launcher, fires five projectiles that pierce shields and destructible surfaces before erupting into flames. Those projectiles also work through floors, ceilings, and adjacent rooms.
When a Horus Lance hits a ballistic shield, it burrows in and ignites, sending flames toward the attacker behind it. The burn is strong enough to kill an operator in a few seconds, so the target must move their shield aside and pull the projectile out to survive. That moment of exposure is what Noor and his teammates are meant to exploit.
The launcher also sticks into soft or reinforced walls, hatches, soft floors, deployable shields, and operator gadgets like Castle’s Armor Panels, Azami’s Kiba Barriers, and Osa’s shields. On a penetrable surface it jets flames from both sides, creating area denial and destroying gadgets placed on the far side. On a surface it cannot pierce, such as a door or window frame, flames only come out of one side.
Noor is a two-speed, two-armor operator. His loadout is listed below.
| Slot | Options |
|---|---|
| Primary weapon | Commando-9 (assault rifle) or ALDA 5.56 (LMG) |
| Secondary weapon | 1911 TACOPS or Bailiff 410 |
| Secondary gadget | Deployable Shield or Barbed Wire |
| Speed / Armor | 2 / 2 |
Noor pairs well with Pulse, whose Cardiac Sensor can flag enemy positions, and with Castle and Azami, whose barriers act as ready-made surfaces for the Horus Lance. Tubarão’s Zoto Canister and Melusi’s Banshee can slow attackers caught in the flames, stretching out the burn damage.
Legend Division and Ranked 3.0 changes
Legend Division is a new solo-queue playlist that opens mid-season and sits above the regular ranked ladder. It replaces the Champion I featured leaderboard and shows a fully visible regional ranking of the top players. Anyone can view the regional leaderboards, even players who do not qualify to compete.
To play in Legend Division during Season 3, you must meet every requirement below.
- Hold Champion rank in the current season
- Reached at least Platinum rank in Season 2
- Positive reputation standing
- Two-step verification enabled through an authenticator app
- ShieldGuard Secure Platform requirements met
You lock your region once Legend Division opens, and this choice is set before you start playing. Players earn a dynamic banner showing their standing, and anyone who finishes in the top 100 receives a charm the following season that displays their final leaderboard position. You keep the charm only while you remain in the top 100.
Ranked 3.0 soft reset and RP
Operation Split Fire continues Ranked 3.0 with a soft reset and a few tuning changes. Placement matches award 100 RP per win and remove 50 RP per loss. At season start, most players drop by 300 RP, while Champion-ranked players reset to Emerald 3. After placements, a win grants roughly 25 to 30 RP.
From Y11S3 onward, Emerald players queuing with Platinum or Gold teammates will no longer pull Champions into the opposing party or match lobby.
ShieldGuard Secure Platform
The ShieldGuard Secure Platform launches alongside Legend Division and enforces several PC security settings: Secure Boot, Windows Memory Integrity (HVCI), and TPM 2.0. To play Legend Division you must grant temporary administrative privileges so the game can verify these settings, and you must add an authenticator app to your Ubisoft account. Some players will need to adjust Windows Security or firmware options to comply.
3v3 Arcade mode
The 3v3 Arcade mode runs from September 8 to 21, 2026, and follows the earlier 1v1 experiment. It is a smaller, faster take on the classic bomb mode, with matches capped at seven rounds and a 30-second preparation phase. All attackers and defenders are available, and there are no operator bans.
The mode uses operator attrition. Once your team wins a round with a set of operators, you cannot use those same operators again for the rest of the match. That forces you to keep rotating your picks and experiment with new lineups.
Wasteland Circuit drone racing event
Wasteland Circuit is Siege’s first drone racing event, running from September 23 to October 13, 2026. You race drones through custom-built tracks filled with obstacles, shortcuts, and high-speed challenges across three courses. Item balloons and boost balloons along the track let you disrupt opponents or supercharge your own drone, and points are awarded by finishing position across each race.
The event includes a dieselpunk-themed cosmetic collection and the following rewards.
- Masterpiece G8A1 weapon skin
- Signature cosmetic bundle
- Pit Lane weapon and drone skin bundle
- Drone skin from the event challenge
- Free event pack
Villa targeted map update and modernized maps
Villa receives the season’s first targeted map update, which arrives mid-season. The underused Living Room/Library bomb site moves from the first floor down to the basement, supported by a redesign of the basement and garage. The garage becomes an interior space instead of an exterior one, changing how attackers can approach from the east side of the map. Surrounding layout changes aim to improve flow, droning lanes, and site selection.
Targeted map updates are a new system. In seasons that do not add an all-new map, the team will pick one existing map and adjust elements such as verticality, bomb sites, and layouts to keep it fresh without changing its core identity.
Season 3 also continues the modernized maps initiative, adding upgraded visuals and destructible elements like fire pipes, canisters, and beepers. The following maps and areas receive the treatment.
- Stadium Alpha
- Stadium Bravo
- House
- Shooting Range
- Tutorials
Operator and weapon balancing
Ubisoft is reining in several strong operators and weapons this season. Dokkaebi sees the biggest gameplay change: her Jegeo Payload now requires a constant connection to the target to finish the upload, so interrupting the signal cancels it. Her tablet stays active for the whole upload, her Impact EMP Grenades are removed, and she gains Breach Charges instead. This makes her hack counterable through Mute jammers, Tubarão’s Zoto Canister, killing her mid-upload, and detection from IQ and Solis.
| Operator / Weapon | Change |
|---|---|
| Kali (CSRX 300) | Scopes now 3.5x and 8x (from 5x and 12x); pump time 0.8s (from 1); max ammo 51 (from 36); bullet trace 1s (from 2s); V-Lance no longer cancels ADS or lean |
| Lion | Scan warning reduced to 1.4s (from 1.5s) |
| Echo | Sonic Burst refill time reduced to 15s (from 16s) |
| Kapkan | Trap damage increased to 62 HP (from 60) |
| SMG-12 | Damage 16 HP (from 28); magazine 22 (from 32); max ammo 111 (from 129) |
| AR-15.50 | Damage 59 HP (from 67); recoil increased; muzzle brake removed |
| MK 14 EBR | Damage 56 HP (from 60); muzzle brake removed |
| SPSMG9 | Damage increased to 35 HP (from 33) |
One previously teased feature is not part of this season. Operator Mastery, the long-term system for tracking individual operator progression, has been pushed to Season 4 so the team can finish it properly.
Quality-of-life and new-player changes
Alongside the headline additions, Operation Split Fire brings a set of smaller improvements aimed at newer players and general usability.
- Players below clearance level 10 now deal reduced friendly fire damage to teammates.
- The Options menu has been rebuilt with new categories, better navigation, and options that appear in multiple relevant places.
- Adaptive Render Scaling is enabled by default on PC across all graphics presets for steadier frame rates.
- Hold actions like entering rappel, dropping the diffuser, and climbing hatches as Oryx now show a circular gauge around the input prompt.
- The surrender vote box was reworked so the option no longer disappears before you can use it.
- The mini-map is now available in Quick Match, with an option for experienced players to hide it.
Operator prices also drop this season. Ram falls to 10,000 Renown or 240 R6 Credits, Skopos to 15,000 Renown or 360 R6 Credits, and Denari to 20,000 Renown or 480 R6 Credits.
With the Public Test Server opening on August 17 and the full release on September 1, 2026, you have a short window to learn Noor’s Horus Lance timings and adjust to the reworked weapons before ranked resets kick in. Full details and the complete bug-fix list are posted on the official Operation Split Fire page.
